Assassinations That Changed The Course Of History

By Toby Tunwase

From emperors and religious leaders to political leaders and human rights activists, human history is rife with assassinations of all kinds. However, the impacts and popularity of some assassinations have been steeper than others. This article takes a journey into human history to trace some of the most impactful assassinations. 

  1. The assassination of Julius Caesar

Julius Caesar was assassinated in 44 BC by about 60 senators who stabbed him multiple times at a senate meeting. They claimed that they did so in the interest of the roman republic because they feared that the power he had was undermining the republic. However, his death ended the republic as civil wars broke out, leading to Rome becoming an empire. 

  1. The Assassination of President William McKinley
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An anarchist killed him in 1901 at a fair in New York. While many don’t know of this assassination like that of other more popular presidents, his death led to the formation of the Secret Service as we know it today. 

  1. The Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand

Over 35 million lives were lost in the first world war, and you can blame this assassination for it. Ferdinand was the heir to the Austro-Hungarian Empire. When a Serbian student shot him, the empire declared war on Serbia. This threw the whole of Europe into war. 

  1. The Assassination of Mahatma Gandhi 
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Gandhi was influential in helping India gain independence from Britain and was famous for his many peaceful protests. After an extremist killed him in 1948, he became a symbol of what protests could achieve, and he inspired the likes of Martin Luther King and Obama.